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On the Street....Beijing, China

 
 
 
 
 















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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

On the Street....Beijing, China

Comments on "On the Street....Beijing, China"

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:47 AM) : 

cool contrast from all your other photos..

 

Blogger pearlaceous said ... (7:38 AM) : 

Wow! This is as real as it gets! It's a very pretty picture.. I love the cultural feel I get from the picture.. I love how she's standing with her feet together and her braids.. And again the layering is very interesting! I love how they are fearless when it comes to layering clothes..

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:49 AM) : 

I too feel an anthropological dimension in the photo. Did she understand your project? She looks defensive! On compositional note, how did you resist having her move a little bit to your right...

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:50 AM) : 

Another pic that emphasizes these long, heavy vertical lines.

Was looking at Zara's Fall/Winter themes a few days ago as well as another retailer and I suppose this all falls under the "hippie chic" kind of banner.

Meh. Okay, but I already did this in high school. Not sure I need to go back there just now.

mltt

 

Blogger seberu said ... (10:05 AM) : 

she looks cozy!

 

Blogger Carolina Lange said ... (10:06 AM) : 

Beautiful shot!

 

Blogger - Susan - said ... (10:20 AM) : 

WOW!
I live in Beijing and just came back to see if you have posted a picture from Beijing! I am impressed! Not Wangfujin Road or Shin Kong Place - just the Beijing that is so impressing (and sad)...
I must post about this in my blog (hope this is okay).
ciao
Suzie from Beijing Notebook

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:09 AM) : 

I wonder what is she thinking about...Great picture, looks like a painting to me

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:36 AM) : 

I don't love the look. However if you consider it looks like a modern take on Chinese ethnic mnorities of China. It become more interesting.

 

Blogger Asi Mod said ... (11:50 AM) : 

Personally, I love the hair and glasses. It's so editorial because I've seen this done in so many magazines.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:53 AM) : 

This might be my favorite photo of yours. You can tell she understands her body. I love that she's carrying two very different bags. I love mostly how you can't quite grasp her proportions, not just from her clothes and what she's carrying but also in her surroundings. It is all very beautiful and moving. Life is great. Thanks, Mr. S!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:03 PM) : 

Happy Halloween Sart!!! are u gonna be at the Parade? u should go!!! its gonna be fun to take some cool shots!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:30 PM) : 

There are too many things,clothes like hanging in this picture.Actually it is all about hanging. I don´t like this one.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (1:00 PM) : 

Though I think she looks cool, she also seems to me as the perfect definition of frumpy. i suppose that ambivalence is exactly what she was going for!

 

Blogger The Spicers said ... (1:01 PM) : 

She's cute, but this is just too many layers for me...I can't imagine her wearing that sweater she's carrying!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (1:30 PM) : 

I just love the background on this photo. I could see that outfit in any city, but not that background. The best part is that sweater she is carrying, which looks like she could throw it over her shoulder as a magical cape and blend into that landscape.

How about some halloween photos Sart?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2:04 PM) : 

This is totally unappealing. This shoot is about people who have an interesting perspective and she looks, to me, as though she lacks any. Surely there are many more interesting 'anthropological' shots to be had.

that said, huge fan. love you sart. just thought i'd bring a new opinion to the table:)

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:11 PM) : 

is this the "olsen" twin chinese cultural revolution pirated version?

 

Blogger Brian said ... (5:29 PM) : 

i love the picture, but i'm not so sure about her style. it's very teenager.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:37 PM) : 

you really know how to capture the qualities that make an entire photo what it should be. sometimes, i find myself enjoying the backdrops of your photos more than the actual subjects themselves. this is not to say that i don't like the people you chose to shoot; it's just that i occasionally prefer to critique the scenary also. thanks to this post, i'm so hyped about going to china now! :-)

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:42 PM) : 

Thank you a thousand times! It happens so very rarely that I feel no need to dissect a picture. I just feel the urge to remember it as a whole in all its bits. It's her hair, isn't it?

 

Blogger Anastasia said ... (6:10 PM) : 

this girl is all about cozy comfort...i like that!!
Hey Sart...got my hands on UK Elle Oct issue the other day...love love your spread!!!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:52 PM) : 

Looks like no thought was put into that at all. Maybe if I went into my closet in the dark and got dressed you all would think it was beautiful?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (7:02 PM) : 

Homeless chic?

 

Blogger JO said ... (7:09 PM) : 

Love the layers and really love the hair!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (7:15 PM) : 

Gorgeous use of colour in this photo. You have an amazing eye. Bravo sart

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (7:16 PM) : 

i love the lack of proportions in this...she still manages to be a body underneath all of her unstructured clothes. i wonder what she would look like walking behind her? as i think this picture makes it all look fabulous, maybe you could introduce animation/video? all of the textures and tones work wonderfully, and it's not 'designer'. even better.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:14 PM) : 

This makes me think of Angela Chase (My So Called Life)- just wanting to disappear behind her hair and clothes. This girl could be a teenager in Brooklyn or anywhere else who has yet to feel comfortable in her skin.

 

Blogger J Voltaire said ... (8:43 PM) : 

she looks super frumpy.

 

Blogger - Susan - said ... (10:32 PM) : 

Hi,

one more comment from Beijing:

it is not that easy to find people dressed in cool outfits. Not as easy like it is in NY, Milan or Paris. Beijing is more grunge... most people do not care much about fashion. Not yet.

And the ognion look is necessary as the temperature during the day can drop up to 20 degrees Celsius.

So for Beijing: great shot!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:36 AM) : 

Speaking about the photo itself, there's a vanishing point that follows the v shape of her sweater. Maybe that's why you didn't have her move over to the right?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:56 AM) : 

I'd totally pass her on the street. You have a great eye for detail Sart.
However, I think this is one of those pictures that warrants a Sart description as to the inspiration behind your click.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:45 AM) : 

beige-ing is right.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:13 AM) : 

Let me guess. Taken in or around the 798 art district, right? Where all the hipsters hang out.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:03 AM) : 

I've been a fan of this blog since spring but have been reluctant (shy) about writing up to now, though deeply appreciative of Sart's work. What makes me want to say something is the cultural gap I perceive in some comments about this astonishingly wonderful picture.

I am bicultural; an Italian who has lived in America since the age of 5; and I have also had the good fortune of traveling to and occasionally working in many countries in my lifetime--including a number of countries in East Asia including China (Beijing) for a few days. That trip was quite a while ago (1984), and at the time I felt it was the most totally foreign place I'd been to since Iran in 1966. In any case, much has obviously changed in Beijing since then, and this picture is a tantalizing glimpse of that change.

I don't think the young woman can be looked at in terms such as "frumpy" or "hippie chic", "homeless chic". These seem to me to be terms referencing our own (U.S.) view of dressing and culture.

What she is wearing reflects such factors as the weather in Beijing (as someone has commented), what she does, how she lives, how she thinks, and what her experiences and world view are--none of which we know. We can only guess at it all by looking at her. That is so intriguing.

And Sart's innate sensitivity and eye are a factor here too: what was it that he saw which could inspire us? When he doesn't spell it out, then it forces us to think about it more.

These photos from places that are less similar to our own (U.S.) perspective perhaps require us to think a bit more before we comment on them or consider them as inspiration for ourselves. I'm certain the inspiration exists, if we can just look beyond our own unconscious cultural limitations.

bam

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:47 PM) : 

Sart, I'm truly disappointed by your China goggles. This is fobbiness and frumpiness, not fashion.

As a longtime reader, I know you are way better than this.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:29 PM) : 

it looks like she's wearing everything she owns

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:01 PM) : 

I just got back from Beijing. It is very interesting to watch this city be superficially westernized and marketed before the Olympics. The vast, vast, bulk of the population has no ability whatsoever to purchase anything at Lane Crawford in this city. To the uninitiated these pictures and the pictures of the store look like something we from the west are familiar with, but believe me, this is not the case. The city has 10 million people just trying to survive. Lane Crawford's presence is very jarring.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2:47 AM) : 

Hmm... I find the comment about China goggles to be very judgmental.

Mr. S's eye for particular fashion statements is incredibly inspirational. Whether or not you find his pictures disappointing is irrelevant. Who are you to act like you know? The photos are a commentary from his perspective.

With that being said, perhaps it is not the most trendy Western or European look, but hey, welcome to the rest of the world. Beautiful in its own way...

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:56 AM) : 

usually not a fan of bulky layering, but i enjoy the quirkyness of her look. if her hair were in a high bun, i would adore her even more!

 

Blogger robi said ... (12:04 AM) : 

welcome to china!! Sartorialist/

Have opportunity that must come to Hangzhou next time//have Chinese scale biggest ladys' wear shopping street here/
this 's a fashion city in china//

下次有机会一定来杭州//这边有中国规模最大的女装购物街//一定能拍到好照片//

 

Blogger david said ... (11:29 AM) : 

like wow...the neutral color palette, rustic sweater, pigtails are totally reminiscent the "style" of the cultural revolution. probably not intentional, but i don't doubt that history influences her personal sense of style. effing love it.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (1:43 AM) : 

her outfit is so dull. a smile would really brighten it up. the cardigan is really cute though but the silhouettes of the dress lets her down.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (7:44 PM) : 

this photo isn't one that would normally catch my attention on the sartorialist, however it is quietly beautiful. it's not so much about the clothing but the photo as a whole, i love it for what it doesn't show you, it makes me want to understand her surroundings and life and to explore her world. It would look perfect in a national geographic story on china's culture clash between the old life and the new wealth that is exploding in the cities. her surroundings are so universal that she could be in post-cold-war Ukraine or in one of the timeless back-alleys of St.Kilda in Melbourne, Australia. The most striking thing about this photo is that although the area around her looks poverty-stricken and mournful, the portrait is not at all pessimistic, she looks strong and confident.

 

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